Americans

George Washington • Benjamin Franklin • Sitting Bull Thomas Edison • John Wayne • Martin Luther King Elvis Presley • Michael Jordan • Madonna
Total population
c. 309 million (2008)
Regions with significant populations
United States        308,101,000[1]
Mexico 1,000,000 [2]  Canada 688,000 [3]  United Kingdom 224,000 [3]  Liberia 159,697 [4]  Australia 56,276 [5]  Philippines 250,000[6]  Brazil est. 25-50,000 [citation needed]  Costa Rica 40,000 [7]  Lebanon 10,000 see: List of countries with foreign nationals in Lebanon  New Zealand 17,751 [8]
Languages
Primarily American English, but also Spanish and others
Religion
Mostly Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism

The people of the United States, U.S. Americans, or simply Americans or American people, are citizens or nationals of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, some Americans don't take their nationality as an ethnicity, but identify themselves with both their nationality and their ancestral origins. Aside from the indigenous American Indian population, nearly all Americans or their ancestors immigrated within the past five centuries.^[9]

Due to the multi-ethnic composition, the United States is a multicultural nation, home to a wide variety of traditions and values.^[10][11] The culture held in common by most Americans is referred to as mainstream American culture, a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of Western European migrants, beginning with the early British and Dutch settlers. German, Irish, and Scottish cultures have also been very influential.^[10] Certain cultural attributes of Mandé and Wolof slaves from West Africa were adopted by the American mainstream; based more on the traditions of Central African Bantu slaves, a distinct African American culture developed that would also deeply affect the mainstream.^[12] Westward expansion integrated the Creoles and Cajuns of Louisiana and the Hispanos of the Southwest and brought close contact with the culture of Mexico. Large-scale immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from Southern and Eastern Europe introduced many new cultural elements. More recent immigration from Asia, Africa, and especially Latin America has had broad impact. The resulting cultural mix may be described as a homogeneous melting pot, or as a pluralistic salad bowl in which immigrants and their descendants retain distinctive cultural characteristics.^[10]

In addition to the United States, Americans and people of American descent can be found internationally such as in Canada, Mexico, Australia, and throughout Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. As many as 4 million Americans are estimated to be living abroad.^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• American Australian
• American Brazilian
• American Canadians
• Americo-Liberian
• American New Zealander
• Hyphenated American
• Immigration to the United States
• Melting pot

v • d • e Demographics of the United States Demographic history Economic and social Affluence · Educational attainment · Homeownership · Household income · Immigration · Income inequality · Language · Middle classes · Personal income · Poverty · Social class · Unemployment by state · Wealth Religion Prominent examples: Buddhist Americans · Christian Americans (Catholic Americans, Mormon Americans, Protestant Americans, etc.) · Hindu Americans · Jewish Americans · Muslim Americans · Neopagan Americans · Non-religious Americans · Sikh Americans Race, ethnicity, and ancestry Ethnic groups in the United States · American people by ethnic or national origin · History of the United States by ethnic group · American culture by ethnicity · Race and ethnicity in the United States Census · Ethnic groups in the United States · Maps of American ancestries · 2000 Census · Race/ethnicity by EEOC · Racism Major examples: Arab and Middle Eastern Americans · Black Americans (African Americans, African immigrants, Afro-Caribbeans, etc.) · Asian Americans (Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian Americans, Japanese Americans, Pacific Islander Americans, etc.)  · Hispanic and Latino Americans (Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans in the United States, Cuban Americans, etc.) · White Americans (European Americans, Jewish Americans (by ethnic origin), etc.) · Multiracial Americans · Native Americans (Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, etc.)

v • d • e Race in the 2000 United States Census "American Indian and Alaskan Native"  "Asian"  "Black or African American"  "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander"  "White"  "Hispanic or Latino Americans"

v • d • e Asian Americans East Asian Chinese · Japanese · Korean · Mongolian · Taiwanese South Asian† Bangladeshi · Indian · Indo-Caribbean · Nepalese · Pakistani · Sri Lankan · Tibetan†† Southeast Asian Burmese · Cambodian · Filipino · Hmong · Indonesian · Laotian · Malaysian · Mien · Thai · Vietnamese Other Afro-Asian · Amerasian · Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans † The US Census Bureau considers Afghanistan a South Asian country, but does not classify Afghan Americans as Asian. †† Otherwise considered Central Asian.